Making Yakult

The Process

1 Mixing of Raw Ingredients

Skim milk powder and sugar are dissolved in water to make a sweet milky solution.

2 Sterilisation

The milk solution is sterilised by ultra-heat treatment, destroying any bacteria present, then transferred to 6,500-litre culture tank via a closed system of pipes and valves.

3 Culture tank

Temperature is reduced and adjusted to body temperature for the bacteria to grow. Live Shirota strain (which has been cultured in a ‘seed tank’ in our laboratory) is added. The solution is allowed to ferment for few days until the number of Shirota strain reaches required levels.

4 Mixing and Storage tank

The concentrate is transferred to a 12,000-litre mixing and storage tank, chilled to 2°C. Sterilised flavours, vitamins, calcium and syrup are added. Prior to bottling, the concentrate is diluted with filtered, sterile water.

5 Injection Blow Moulding Machine

The plastic bottles are produced on site using polystyrene.

6 Bottling and Packaging

The bottles are wrapped with individual labels, filled with Yakult, capped with a foil lid, sealed and transferred along a conveyor belt to the packaging facility. Single bottles are sorted into groups of five or ten and shrink-wrapped in polypropylene film. It is then grouped together and wrapped again in polyethylene film, forming a ‘carton’ of 50 bottles.

7 Refrigeration Room

Finished products are kept refrigerated before delivery to stores.

8 Quality Assurance

Samples are collected for lab analysis throughout the production process. More than 200 tests are conducted for each batch of Yakult produced including tests to determine the number of live Shirota strain, check for potential contaminants, microbiological quality, composition, acidity, physical attributes, taste, tests on raw materials and environmental tests.